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Saturday, August 6, 2016

I don't know 'bout you, but my life alternates between so busy I want to cry and so boring I want to cry. I recently moved to a new town which has more coffee than the last town, but less yoga options.

I love yoga classes, but hate yoga videos and the only forms of exercise I enjoy is dancing when nobody's watching cause I'm home by myself, brisk walks (my grandma taught me how), the elliptical machine at the gym and yoga classes.

The problem I have with gyms is that they all don't have that one type of elliptical machine that I really love -- the rest of them are for losers and guys named Hal. I also don't like the creepy guys at the gym who wear those baggy shirts with arm pit holes so big you can see their belly buttons. Gross.

I love personal trainers who like to gossip early in the morning, but those cost biggie bucks and all my bucks are really small. Plus, my last trainer was obsessed with squats and clearly didn't understand that squats come straight from the pit of hell.

And since I haven't found a gym that doesn't annoy me in this town, I
haven't joined one... yet. Don't worry, I joined Ulta instead. And some guy named Brandon keeps texting asking if I want to join his gym, so it's not like I never speak to anyone at the gym.

And my final problem with getting enough exercise is that I actually live in a part of the Midwest that is competing with a sauna for humidity levels which leaves me walking early in the mornings and I don't like mornings.

Which brings me to 30x30x30

What's the easiest thing I can do every day for an entire month?

30 seconds of plank, 30 crunches or sit ups and 30 jumping jacks.

To make my life more fun, I invited a trusted advisor to do this with me. She's the one who added the jumping jacks and who texts me funny things and then it makes my heart happy as I'm holding plank with my cats running under me.

Friday, May 20, 2016

Like many other people, I had a complete and total meltdown right before I turned 30. To be fair, or dramatic, I had some extra special circumstances that led to my melt down:

1.) I was living in Alaska
2.) My hair had just started falling out
3.) I had no idea what I was doing and kept thinking I had failed at life.

Not quite sure how one fails at life, but that was the overwhelming feeling I had.

All my Idaho friends had already been married for about 2 decades by the time I turned 30 and my life looked completely different. And instead of judging myself by my standards, I started judging myself by the mean church coffee lady standards of, "why aren't you married yet?"

Instead of buying my first house or having my fourth baby, I was knee deep in winter and terrified of a body that seemed to be attacking itself.

hello, auto immune issues. i hate you.

Sometimes your body attacks you and your emotions play along in the world's worst duet.

In a move so perfect and mom like, my Mama mailed me a card with a simple message, "Life begins at 30," and no joke I called her snotty nosed and sobbing because in that moment my mom got all my fears and everything that felt wrong and was able to speak through the lies to give me that bit of understanding and hope I needed. She was a balm to my anxious ridden heart.

2 1/2 years into my thirties and I don't feel like I'm winning this decade yet, but I do feel more okay to be knee deep in the crap of life. Thankfully, I've got a long distance support system in my Mom and a good cell phone plan. The pain that comes with life is a lot more real, but the quest for joy and knowing what love really looks like is also more real. And even if it's a long phone call at the end of a junky day, sharing your life with someone you love makes everything better.

Cheers to whatever road life has you on and judging ourselves by our own standards rather than what works for someone else.

Ice-cream pie wants nothing from you. It's simple. And since it is a lighter version of ice-cream, it's practically harmless. Paula Deen's diabetes might even like this recipe. (especially if you use the double-churned light ice-cream)

Saturday, November 26, 2011

my amazing family, sweet friends, and silly memories of the people I love, along with God's provisions have my heart overflowing.

My parents next door neighbor is in the hospital right now and every time I think of him, a thousand memories from my childhood come rushing into my heart. As I pray for his healing, I count the blessing of his friendship.

Boomer and I met when I was about seven years old. My family had just moved into the neighborhood and I wanted to meet the cop that lived next door. So I went with my pestering questions and introduced myself and we've been friends ever since.

He showed up to my Church plays, my brothers baseball games, and let us drink soda pop on his couch when we locked ourselves out of our house while our parents were out for dinner.

(Which was my fault, we went to check out the possible burglar situation and I locked the door behind us.)

As far as adopted family members go, Boomer has always been the greatest. He's put up with a lot from me- he even let me paint his toes pink once. That's a good neighbor. When I was in the fourth grade and made him a card for Thanksgiving he sent me a card back. And this (twenty)seven year old little girl is so thankful for the Grandpa-ish friend I found that day in his driveway.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

I met this kid on the playground once. Some other little boy was being mean to me and Jonathon came to my rescue with some Spanish sass.

There are memories of Jonathan sprinkled throughout my childhood. Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, co-op, hanging with my brothers, arm wrestling, and rollerblading through Post Falls with Clara and his sisters. And then there was the time he bleached his hair- which made him visible from a mile a way at Silverwood.

This morning Jonathan Matthew Franco died. Headed to Canada on his motorcycle to enjoy the last day of summer, or so his facebook page said.

Tonight while we mourn for our loss, Jonny is with the glorious Son. His summer didn't end, it's just begun.

Son, brother, friend, playground hero. He'll be missed, but if there's a playground in heaven then I think I know a few people who will want him to save them a spot. I'll see you there, Jonathan.

In my Father's house are many
rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I
am. You know the way to the place where I am going.

Friday, July 22, 2011

It may be hot but the stinkin' heat didn't stop me from making lasagna this week.

I was taking food to a house with a new baby in it and I decided to make an extra batch for my friends.

My general philosophy for cooking (and baking too) is to just make more.

I like leftovers and I strongly dislike when there isn't enough food.

You know, you have a party, all your friends show up, and you have nothing to feed them.

It's my italian/jewish thing.

(Confession: I'm neither Italian or Jewish)

So I turned my oven on to 375 and the fun began.

One minor stop at the grocery store helped me pick up the ingredients I didn't have.

Divided by steps, here's what you need:

Ready to bake lasagna noodles- 1 box.

Ground Turkey meat- 1 pound.

salt + pepper

crushed Garlic

1/2 an onion

if you have non-onion eaters in the house, you can use onion flakes.

Parsley- 2 tablespoons*

Fennel Seeds- 1/2 teaspoon

Italian seasoning- 1 teaspoon + a sprinkle

Dried basil leaves- 1 1/2 teaspoons

Sugar- 1 tablespoon

Salt- 1/2 tablespoon

Pepper- just a pinch

Tomato paste- 12 ounce can

Tomato sauce- 13 ounce can

Crushed Tomatoes- 28 ounce can

Water- just a few tablespoons... or half a cup.

Low fat Ricotta cheese- 16 ounces.

1 egg

Parsley- 2 tablespoons*

Part skim Mozzarella cheese.

(I used just over 2 cups and there are two cups in those bags of the shredded stuff)

Parmesan cheese

Step 1: brown the meat with sprinkling of salt and pepper, garlic, and onion.

Step 2: Add the tomato paste + sauce, crushed tomato sauce, water, and all the seasonings. You can let it simmer, or not if you don't have the time. I rarely do.

Step 3: mix the ricotta cheese, parsley, and egg.

Step 4: Spray pan. Sometimes I like to use the throw away ones from the grocery store. Dishes are a pain.

Step 5: spoon meat sauce into the bottom of the pan

Step 6: cover with noodles

Step 7: spoon 1/2 Ricotta mix onto noodles and spread out

Step 8: sprinkle mozzarella cheese

Step 9: spoon meat sauce

Step 10: sprinkle with parm

Step 11: repeat steps 6-10 + top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.

Step 12: bake it for about an hour. you can play the cover and uncover game with foil over the top for half + half. or you can leave it the whole time. Either way spray the foil with some PAM. The side that meets the lasagna.

*I think you're smart enough to figure it out, but just in case... 2+2 = 4 all together*

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

All week long I've been day dreaming about my old orange corduroy pants. I got them off a clearance rack, in the men's department, when I was seventeen. That's how you spell fashion icon, right?

Maybe not, but I love them still. Bless their heart, wherever they may not be.

After racking my brain. I decided to wear a bright orange top with a flowered skirt (it had orange on it). The only problem was that I didn't wash those things or take a picture of them or actually wear them.

However, I did paint my toes orange. In honor of Sarah!

I didn't take a picture of that either.

Here's what I did do.

I remembered that I have a pair of light orange shorts that I almost never wear. They require a certain amount of confidence, which I normally don't have.

After a pep talk, I mustered up enough confidence for the living room, my only problem... my only camera is on my computer and I am way cheesy. Like way.